Monday, July 26, 2010

With all the fruit that's been going on around Baking and Mistaking, it's time to get back down to real business. Chocolate business. And does that mean a chocolate tart shell with a rich chocolate custard filling? Yes, it does.Another recipe from my new favorite book - Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan - this did not disappoint. And thankfully for my own sanity, it didn't require a candy thermometer. Although my crust did crack. Oops.But I moved past that - by completely ignoring it - to fill the shell with this chocolatey goodness. The original recipe called for bittersweet chocolate, but I used semisweet instead, mostly because it was what I had. I think I would have really liked to try this with bittersweet, for an extra deep chocolate flavor.This is a very rich dessert. The original recipe also called for a whipped cream topping which I left off - partly because I didn't want it and partly because that wouldn't keep too long, and I didn't think this would be eaten in one meal. If you do want it, I think you'd be better off topping individual slices with whipped cream and leaving it off the whole tart.Well anyway, if you haven't entered the giveaway yet please do! You can enter until midnight on Tuesday, but please don't enter more than once. Winner announced on Wednesday!

Tip of the Day: Some decorative elements on pies and cakes look great but don't have staying power - like whipped cream, fresh fruit or even confectioner's sugar. These are things that should be added right before serving, and consider doing it to individual pieces instead of the whole.

Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt.
Cut the butter into small pieces and scatter over the flour.
Using a pastry cutter of a food processor, cut the butter into the mixture until it is all in coarse pieces.
Add the yolk a little at a time, pulsing or mixing after each addition.
Mix until the dough begins to clump, then gather together into a ball.
Press the dough into a greased tart pan, and freeze for 30 minutes.
Spray a piece of aluminum foil and press it down against the crust.
Bake on 375 F for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 8 minutes.

Bring the milk to a boil.
Whisk the yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a saucepan.
Drizzle in a few tablespoons of the hot milk and keep whisking.
Continue whisking as you add in the rest of the milk slowly.
Put the pan over medium heat and bring to a boil, while whisking constantly. Let boil for one to to minutes, the remove from heat.
Mix in the melted chocolate. Let cool for five minutes, then whisk in the butter until fully incorporated.
Cool the custard in the fridge (tightly covered) or in an ice water bath until chilled.
Spoon into the baked and cooled tart shell.
Serve immediately or keep covered in the fridge.